Rescue Team Destiny
by LichenLeaf
Summary: Two best friends form a rescue team with two strangers. They become fast friends. Which is good, because they're going to need each other to get past the adventure that awaits. Also, should you feel the urge, send me rescue missions for the group to do!
1. Chapter 1

A Chikorita and Skorupi walked side by side, talking animatedly to each other. It was a warm evening, and the two were full of energy. They had just entered the town of Greenleaf, and were incredibly excited.

"I'm so incredibly excited!" the Chikorita, Paprika, chirped happily. "Today we meet our destinies, and form a pokemon rescue team!"

"You're awfully excited for someone who didn't originally want to join a rescue team," Scorpia, the Skorupi, teased.

"Hey! Remember, I was the one who came to you after our parents…" she gulped sadly and looked down. "…died."

Scorpia put a claw on her best friends shoulder. "Hey, it's all right. They died doing what they loved. And now, we can carry on their name." She gave a small smile to the grass type.

Paprika and Scorpia's parents had been on a pokemon rescue team 'd made quite the name for themselves, too. They were at the peak of their success when tragedy struck. They were exploring the famed Zero Isle, when they were ganged up on by pokemon bandits. The bandits were captured, and brought to justice, but it wasn't enough for Paprika.

Since she was little, she'd admired rescue teams, but had never wanted to join one. When the news reached her that her parents had died, her whole world flipped upside down. She couldn't be consoled, not even by her best friend Scorpia. Then, a week after they'd found out, Paprika approached Scorpia with an idea. The two would leave their home, and form their own rescue team. Scorpia would be the leader, with Paprika in second-in-command. They would carry on their parents work of helping pokemon in need.

Paprika nodded. "So, what's our first step, leader Scorpia?"

"Well, we agreed we need to add a couple more members. Ones who fit our criteria, of course."

"Duh! They have to be nice, sane, easy to be around, and… what was the last thing?"

"Unevolved. They have to be starting out, just like us. We can't have evolved pokemon bossing us around."

"Oh right… so, where do we recruit some new members?"

"I dunno… maybe there is a Gummi bar around here?"

They searched, and finally came across a building with a sign that said "Gravel's Gummi Shack". They walked inside, and found it filled to bursting with pokemon.

"Um, I think we'd better split up." Scorpia said, looking around at the massive amount of pokemon

"Okay. Meet you later!" Paprika said, before bounding off.

Scorpia watched her run off between pokemon, and sighed, before heading to the bar. Behind the counter was a Graveler. He was chatting with a Cottonee.

"Excuse me," she said hesitantly. The Graveler turned and smiled at her.

"Hey there!" he said in a low, friendly voice. "What can I do ya for? I'm Gravel."

"Do you know if any pokemon around here are interested in joining a rescue team?"

"I don't really know, myself. We haven't had too much luck with rescue teams in the past. Now that I think about, there's only one in the area now. People just leave things up to the police. You'll have to ask around."

"Ah. Thank you, Gravel."

"My pleasure! And good luck on your search."

Scorpia moved away from the bar, and thought to herself._ If there aren't really any rescue teams around here, it should be easy to make a name for ourselves. The only proble is just finding the right pokemon to fill up our team…" _

She looked around, and decided to get right into her search. Looking around, she had no idea where to begin. She was about to ask a Wurmple some questions, when she heard some loud noises coming from a corner. Curious, she walked on over.

There was a gap in the crowd of pokemon, all staring and cheering into a clearing. Scorpia pushed her way to the front, and watched what was going on. Two pokemon, a Machop and a Piplup, were wrestling. Scorpia was about to leave, figuring the Machop had this fight in the bag. But she stopped, and watched in fascination as the Piplup used the move Double Hit, punching the Machop twice in the face, and then swing wildly in a Flail attack. The Machop went down, and the Piplup struck a pose to his wildly cheering fans.

_He's strong, we could use someone like him on the team. Let's see what he's like first, though._

Scorpia walked up to the Piplup, clapping soflty, as the crowd started to disperse.

"That was impressive," she said, sticking out a claw. The Piplup shook it with his fin.

"Thanks, but it was easy. Machop talk big, but they're really a bunch of pushovers," he said with a cocky smile.

Just then, the Machop stood up, and glared angrily at the Piplup. "No fair! You cheated somehow, I know it! Rematch, now!" Scorpia watched the Piplup closely, to see how he would react.

"Listen buddy. First off, I never cheat. Never. I don't need to. If I'm outmatched, I'll take my beating like a pokemon. Second, I'm talking to someone, so I will not fight you. Third, if you aren't gone in the next two seconds, I'll have to throw you out. Which isn't fighting you, it's doing everyone here a favor." He finished this with a hard look at the Machop.

The Machop grit his teeth, and walked away, grumbling to himself.

The Piplup's expression relaxed, and he faced Scorpia once again. "Sorry about that. I enjoy a fight, but not against someone I can easily beat, like him. I never got your name. I'm Jet."

Scorpia smiled. _He's polite, tough, and a little cocky. I like him. _

"I'm Scorpia. And I've got a proposition for you…"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Paprika wasn't having much success trying to recruit someone.<p>

"Um, I have to go now…" she said awkwardly to a Bulbasaur.

"What do you mean, babe, you just got here. Come closer, and we can let our vines touch," the Bulbasaur winked slyly.

Paprika recoiled, and ran off. That was the third time someone had hit on her, though the other two hadn't been _quite_ that straightforward about it. She hoped Scorpia was having better luck than she was. She sighed, and sat down on some hay.

"Um, excuse me… are you all right?" a voice asked.

Paprika turned her head, and looked at the concerned face of a Trapinch. "Oh, yes, I'm fine. I'm just looking for someone, I guess you could say."

The Trapinch moved a little closer. "Maybe I can help? Who is it that you're looking for?"

"Well… I don't really know. I haven't met them yet."

"Uh… I… see?" He cocked his head. "Okay, I don't see. What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm trying to recruit someone to join a rescue team with me and my friend. We know what we're looking for in a recruit, but I haven't been able to find anyone who matches what we're looking for; unevolved, reasonably nice, and sane."

"Hm. I may be able to help. That Ledyba over there is really nice. But she likes to collect buttons, you see her pile from here. There's a Caterpie right there! Actually, he swears a lot, you probably won't like him…"

Paprika listened as the Trapinch listed several more pokemon, giggling each time he found something wrong with them. Eventually she cut him off by asking, "How do you know so much about random pokemon?"

The Trapinch blushed. "I… I'm kinda awkward, so I tend to just sit back and watch crowds. You kind find out a lot about someone that way."

"Well, what do you know about me?"

The Trapinch paled. "Wh-what?"

"Come on, what have you noticed about me? You had to have seen me at some point while I was out there."

"Um, well… for starters, you've been in a few fights. But all with the same pokemon. They must have claws, because there are thin scratch marks and needle marks along your body. There are no sign of bruises, so you must prefer to fight from a distance. Unless you ram them with your leaf. It's thicker than what you see on most Chikorita. You also don't know the power of your own beauty, because…" the Trapinch clamped his jaws shut, and looked away quickly. "So, um, yes… I have noticed a few things about you."

Paprika smiled, and then asked, "Why don't _you_ join the rescue team? Your really smart, we could use someone like you. Please?" She looked at him with big brown eyes.

"Well, I'd really rather… um, you see… Oh all right, why not? I'm in."

Paprika laughed gleefully, and then stopped. "It just occurred to me, we don't know each others names. I'm Paprika."

"I'm Drago. Pleasure to meet you."

"And I'm Scorpia. This is Jet. Nice to have you on board."

Drago looked up in surprise at the sound of a new voice. Standing there was Scorpia and Jet, who was looking at Paprika.

"This must be your friend, right?"

"Yup. Paprika, Jet. Jet, Paprika." Scorpia glanced around the group, and said, "How about we start off for the Rescue Team Center? It's pretty cramped in here."

The others nodded in agreement, and they all walked outside together.

**And, there it is! My second story. This one is all mapped out, beginning to end, so A Ditto Story won't suffer. I started writng this to get over some writer's block I was having. If you liked it, tell me why! If you didn't... tell me why! Any and all feedback, including flames, are welcome.**

**Also! For random filler chapters, send me ideas for missions for them to go on! It can be through review, or PM. It doesn't matter. Just include mission specs and character details. So, with that, farewell until next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

Heading towards the Rescue Team Registration building, they all began chatting. Eventually, the subject of their pasts was brought up.

"Well," Jet said, looking down, "My family tree is filled with pokemon wrestlers and warriors. We've been bred to fight, and we did it well. However…" he paused, "The last couplde generations of my family have acted less than honorable. In fact, they were downright vicious. They cheated in matches, lied, and some have even murdered. I want to prove I'm not like them so… I guess that's why I came here, and eventually joined your rescue team. To prove I'm different then they are. What about you guys?" he asked, addressing Scorpia and Paprika. "Why'd you want to form a team in the first place?"

"Because our parents were in a rescue team together," Scorpia explained.

"But they were killed in Zero Isle," Paprika added bitterly. "I suggested to Scorpia we form a team together, and she agreed. I just don't want our parents work to be forgotten."

Scorpia patted her friend's back with a claw, before saying, "In addition to that, I want my name to be known. Not because I'm selfish, and want glory, but because to be someone people can look up to. I want to be the best leader the world's ever seen…" Her eyes glazed over briefly, before she turned to Drago. "What about you?"

Drago gulped, and looked down sadly. "Ever since I was little, I've been obsessed with learning all that I could about the world. While other kids played and practice battled, I listened to the elders' stories, and read what books I could find. The other pokemon made fun of me, and often beat on me. I tried fighting back, mind you, but there were always so many…" He gulped sadly before continuing. "I wanted it to stop. So I left my village, and came here. When Paprika offered me to join the team, I was hesitant, but I figured this would earn me some respect from my old village. To prove I'm more than just smart."

They walked along in silence for a while, before Paprika walked along beside him, and nuzzled his side with her leaf. "I think you're more than just smart, Drago."

Jet smiled back at him. "Yeah, you seem like a decent guy. And if anyone gives you trouble, tell me. I'll pummel them for ya."

The group finally arrived at the Rescue Team Registration building. Walking inside, they found a bored looking Chansey.

"No one ever comes in here, why do I have to show up?" he grumbled to himself.

"Excuse me. We're hear to sign up to become a rescue team," Scorpia said proudly.

"Oh, are you now? Well, let me give you a word of advise. No one really cares about rescue teams around here. They just leave everything up to the police. Why don't you make your life, and mine, simpler by just going home?"

Paprika shook her head and stepped forward. "No! I refuse to! We're forming a rescue team right now, or so help me, I'm going to jump over this counter and beat the registration forms out of you!"

The Chansey gulped, and quickly sat up straight. "Of- of course, miss! I'll just need your designated leader to sign these papers here…" He pulled out some official looking documents, and had Scorpia sign them all, as Chikorita stepped back behind her, and winked at Drago, who blushed and smirked.

"Now then, one last piece of business… what's your team's name?"

Scorpia's face fell. "…Our what?"

The Chansey face palmed. "Oh, you guys are going to be star explorers, I can tell. Your team name! What people will refer to your little group as!"

Scorpia turned towards the others. "What do you guys think our name should be?"

Jet spoke up and said, "Team Hammer! Because we'll crush any outlaws we meet!"

Paprika cocked her head at Jet. "Isn't that just a tad violent? We don't want to seem too rough, do we?"

Jet shot her a confused glance. "We don't?"

Paprika shook her head. "How about Team All-Stars? Or Team Dynamite! Or Team-"

"Destiny?" Drago said softly. Everyone looked at him. He shuffled his feet, and said slowly, "We could be Rescue Team Destiny, because I believe it is our destiny we all met. In addition, we are all trying to follow our own destiny. Scorpia, you want to lead a first class rescue team, and have your name spoken around the world as the greatest explorer of all time. Paprika, you want to carry on your parents legacy. Jet, you want to prove you aren't like your family, and that you have a sense of honor. And I…I want to prove I'm more than just a braniac."

Drago's speech was followed by silence. Everyone was thinking about what he said. Eventually, Paprika spoke.

"Well I like it. What he said makes sense. I vote to make our name Team Destiny!"

Jet spoke after her, and said, "I second that! It's a pretty epic name!"

Scorpia smiled, and turned back to the Chansey, who was eyeing them all with interest. "Our name will be Team Destiny."

The Chansey wrote on a piece of paper, and marked it with a stamp. He looked up at the group, and said, "All right. You are now officially Rescue Team Destiny. Here are your badges, and bandannas. Sorry, the only color we have is red."

Scorpia took the items, and passed them out to her team. She tied her bandanna around her tail. Paprika was wearing it in typical bandanna form, with the triangle on her back. Drago wore it similar to Paprika, except the triangle was on his chest. Jet tied it around his right fin. Scorpia thanked the Chansey, who waved at her dismissively.

"Yeah, yeah, it's my job. Good luck, and try and prove me wrong about rescue teams here."

The group went outside, and pondered their next move.

"So what's our next move?" Jet asked Scorpia.

"Well, it's evening… I suppose we find some place to set up our base of operations, and get some sleep."

"Aw, come on! I've still got energy. I know! Let's have a little sparring match. There's a pond near here that's usually devoid of pokemon. We can go there, and then afterwards, we can crash at my place. It's pretty big."

"I dunno guys…"

"Ah come one Scorpia. Don't be a stick in the mud. We just became a rescue team, how can we sleep now?" Paprika asked, nudging her friend.

"Well, all right. We'll spar for a little bit," Scorpia said, lightening up.

"Cool! Follow me. And I got dibs on Paprika. Somethin tells me you're not as easy to knock around d as you look."

"Gee, thanks Jet." She said goodheartedly, following him.

After a few minutes of walking through the woods on what looked like a scarcely used trail, they arrived at a small pond.

"Here we are. No use standing around, might as well get down to it!" Jet turned to Paprika, and put up his fins in a stance similar to a Hitmonchan.

"All right, all right. Let's do this!" Paprika took a stance to similar to that of a Purrloin, before it pounces. She eyed Jet, and then lashed out with her leaf, sending out a flurry of smaller leaves. Jet watched the incoming leaves, then dove aside at the last second. He landed on his stomach, and shot a Bubble attack behind him, propelling himself forward. He slid at Paprika, and then jumped and punched her twice with a Double Hit. Paprika blocked with her leaf, and launched some smaller rocks outward in an Ancient Power attack. Jet took the hit easily, and rushed at her again.

Scorpia and Drago watched for a moment, before Drago said, "Well, we'd better get started too, eh? It looks like their having fun. You can see Paprika smili-" he was cut off as Scorpia rammed into him in a Faint Attack.

"Oh, so that's how it gonna be?" He chuckled, and used Sand Attack. Scorpia wiped her eyes clear, but she was Bit down on by Drago. She was about to strike back, when she heard laughter.

"Wow, would you look at that. The new rescue team is having some battle practice. It looks like they'll need a lot of it." The voice belonged to a Scyther, and following his words was laughter by a small group behind him. Immediately on his right was a Cubone, who was twirling his bone as he was laughing. Behind him was a Pawniardwho had a high pitched giggle. Next to her was a Seviper, who was laughing like the rest, but with a cold, menacing look in his eye.

"Who are you punks?" Jet asked angrily, turning towards them.

The Scyther's face turned hateful. "We're Team Blade. I'm Katana. This is Claymore, Rapier, and Machete." He pointed to the Cubone, Pawniard, and Seviper respectively. "We're Team Blade, Greenleaf's _original _rescue team."

"What do you mean 'original'?" Scorpia asked, stepping forward and narrowing her eyes.

"It means we don't need any other rescue teams hanging around stealing jobs and glory we could be having."

"Why does it matter, as long as pokemon are being helped?" Scorpia asked.

Katana mocked her in a high, annoying voice. "_Why does it matter as long as pokemon are being helped. _Ugh, not only does a new rescue team come to steal our thunder, but they are a bunch of pansies as well."

Jet snapped. "Who are you calling Pansies?" He growled angrily, and rushed at Katana. Claymore stepped forward, and hit Jet square in the stomach with his bone. Jet doubled over, and spat out a Bubble attack. The Cubone twirled his bone, deflecting the shot, and swung at Jet once again. Jet caught the bone with one fin, and punched Claymore under the jaw, sending him to the ground. At this point, the two teams converged on each other.

Scorpia and Katana started slashing at each other, parrying and thrusting, but not actually getting any hits. Katana backed off, and moved his scythes in a circular mnotion, and a wave of air sent Scorpia flying. She recovered from the Vacuum Wave, rushed forwards in a Night Slash.

Paprika and Rapier, meanwhile were squaring off. "What's the matter," Rapier asked in a high, obnoxious voice, "too scared to get your pretty little self all roughed up?" Paprika grit her teeth, and used Ancient Power. Rapier side stepped the rocks, and laughed. "Aw, you missed! Poor little thing." She cackled, and started sharpening her claws with Hone Claws. Paprika used Ancient Power again, followed by Razor Leaf. Rapier started cackling again as she sidestepped the rocks, but went quiet as the Razor Leaf hit her square in the chest. "Ack! You bitch, I'll kill you!" She rushed forward, and started slashing at Paprika with Fury Cutter.

Drago saw what was happening, and rushed forward to help. But his way was blocked by Machete. "Going sssomewhere, my little morsssel?" he hissed, softly, slowly coiling around Drago.

"Ah, let go!" Drago cried, and then Bit down on Machete. Machete cried out, and tossed Drago up in the air. Drago flew up, and as he started coming down, he was slashed and swatted away by Dragon Tail. He hit a tree, and groaned softly. Machete slithered up, chuckling softly. Before Drago could do anything, Machete struck out and used Bite. Drago cried out, and started flailing, but Machete held fast.

"Time for you to die." He hissed, and bit down harder. Drago almost passed out, but somehow managed to hang onto consciousness.

"I didn't want to have to do this," he said through clenched teeth, "but you've forced my strongest attack."

Machete cocked an eye scale, but didn't loosen his grip. Drago's body started to glow white, and Machete began to get scared. "What are you do-" he was cut off by Drago wriggling out of his open mouth, and dropping to the ground. He then lunged at Machete, and knocked him halfway across the pond. Everyone stopped and looked as they saw the snake go flying by. Machete floated to the surface of the lake, unconscious. Everyone was stunned, and no one moved.

Paprika was the first to come to her senses. While Rapier was still distracted, she shot a Leech Seed at her, binding her claws. "What the…?" Rapier said, looking down at her claws. She was about to cut through the Vines, when she was picked up by an larger vine, and tossed at a tree. Rapier shrieked in terror, but was silenced as the trunk met with her face. Paprika recalled her Vine Whip attack, pleased with herself.

The loud thud brought everyone back into reality, and the fight continued. But not for much longer. Jet and Claymore started swinging at each other again. "Argh, enough of this!" Jet grumbled, and grabbed Claymore's bone mid-swing, and pulled him close. Jet shot a point blank Bubble into Claymore's face, and then punched him twice in the gut with Double Hit. Claymore went down without a sound.

Not having an opponent anymore, Paprika and Drago helped Scorpia fight Katana. Paprika restrained one arm with Vine Whip, while Drago grabbed the other with a bite attack. Scorpia slashed at Katana's chest with Slash repeatedly, until he cried out. Paprika and Drago let him go, and he fell to the ground. Katana looked at his teammates, all beaten.

"Enough of this!" Katana spat, standing up. "We'll go… this time. But know this. The next time Team Blade and Team Destiny cross paths, we will fight. And Team Blade will win." And with that, he stalked off, closely followed by Claymore and Rapier, who had finally gotten up.

Machete had woken up as well, and as he slithered past, he hissed at Drago, "I don't know what technique you usssed, but it sure asss hell won't work next time." Drago stood trembling as he watched the large snake follow his team back towards the town.

Breathing heavily, the members of Team Destiny all looked at each other. They smiled, and burst out cheering. "We beat them!" Paprika exclaimed happily.

"Nah, we destroyed them!" Jet said, pumping a fin into the air. "Especially you, Drago! What move was that?"

"Yes, I'm curious too. That was ridiculous, you tossed Machete almost clear across the lake." Scorpia added, looking at Drago with interest with Jet. Paprika was looking at him with awe.

"We-well… it was nothing more than a Return attack. The smarter pokemon are, the stronger the attack." He shrugged, and half smiled. "I don't like to use that attack because I feel it's unfair to my opponent."

Jet nodded, and clapped him on the back. "Very honorable, Drago. I respect that."

Paprika nuzzled his side, causing Drago to blush. I guess chivalry isn't dead, huh?"

Drago smiled weakly. "Ye-yeah…"

Jet smirked at the two of them, and then yawned. Well, I'm beat. Let's head back to my place and get some sleep, eh?"

Scorpia nodded, and stepped forward. "Lead the way."

They followed Jet back through the forest, and to his place of living. They were all so tired, no one even took in their surroundings when they arrived. They collapsed onto some hay Jet escorted them to, and they fell sound asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

When Paprika woke up the next morning, she took one look around, and jumped to her feet in fear and confusion. She was in a strange room, that contained simple furnishings, such as a beds and a couple dressers. On the bed next to her was Scorpia, still sleeping soundly. Paprika nudged Scorpia until she emitted a groan, and opened her eyes.

"What, Paprika?"

"Scorpia… where are we?"

Scorpia cocked an eyebrow, and looked around.

"Jet's house, remember? We must be in a guest room." She closed her eyes again.

Paprika looked down, embarrassed. "Oh yeah. Sorry, Scorpia." She took another look around, and asked, "Hey, where's Drago?" And Jet, for that matter?"

Scorpia sighed, and realized she wasn't going back to sleep. "Probably in their own rooms." She stood up. "Seeing as we're up, we might as well find them, and get the day started."

They left their room (after Paprika straightened her bandana), and found themselves in a long hallway. They went left, and looked into doorway, seeing only empty bedrooms. They got to the end of the hallway, only to see it branched off to the left and right for quite a ways.

"How big is this place?" Paprika wondered aloud.

"Pretty big, I won't lie." a voice said. The two turned around, and saw Jet leaning against a wall, Drago by his side. "Morning, sleeping beauties. We were about to come wake you up."

"It's almost noon." Drago said, glancing out a nearby window.

Scorpia's jaw dropped. "Our first official day of being a rescue team, and I overslept? Holy Mew, we gotta get going! There are missions to be done, pokemon to rescue…" She continued talking as she dashed past Jet and Drago. However, she didn't get very far. Jet grabbed onto her tail, and she ran in place for a moment before stopping.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"The exit is the other way."

"Oh…"

Jet led them through some winding hall ways, until they arrived at a large staircase, going down. Jet led them down it, explaining the large house.

"Like I told you guys yesterday, I come from a long line of pokemon warriors and wrestlers. My family was very good at what they did, be it through legal means or not. As such, we have quite the fortune. I, er, _borrowed, _some of that money, and bought this place. It may seem needlessly large, but I had planned on making a name for myself as a wrestler, so naturally I'd need a big place to store my fortunes and trophies, and other memorabilia."

"Quite confident in your abilities, huh?" Paprika asked. Jet just smirked and winked at her.

Jet opened a large door, and the group found themselves outside. After a bit of walking down a path, they arrived in town again.

"Hey Scorpia?" Drago asked, stopping. Scorpia turned around, and faced him.

"What's up?"

"Remember that the Chansey said rescue teams weren't popular in this town? Well… wouldn't that mean there wouldn't be a mission board?"

Scorpia's eyes widened. "Oh no. I didn't even think of that… Now what?" she mumbled to herself. She looked at the ground for a moment, before snapping her head back up. "Let's go to Gravel's Gummi Shack. We're bound to get some sort of job there." The others nodded, and they set off.

When they arrived, they found the place to be less packed than before. They strode up to the bar, where Scorpia addressed Gravel, who turned to her, smiling widely.

"Well if it isn't the Skorupi from before! It looks like you found some pokemon to join your rescue team, eh?"

Scorpia smiled back, and nodded, before getting serious. "Yes, and we were wondering if you knew of any pokemon that needed help?"

Gravel's smile faded. "Now that you mention it, I know someone who may need some help."

Scorpia leaned forward eagerly. "Just give us the details."

Gravel frowned. "It's probably nothing. It's just… you know that Cottonee I was talking to yesterday?"

Scorpia thought back, and vaguely remembered. "Yes, what about him?"

"I think he may be in trouble. You see, he was talking about exploring a mystery dungeon near here, Fungal Cave, because there have been rumors of bandits leaving a treasure there. I tried talking him out of it, but he refused to listen to common sense. The cave is full of wild pokemon. What if he was attacked? He usually comes in in the mornings, but I haven't seen him."

Scorpia nodded. "We'll take a look. Where is the dungeon?"

Gravel gave them directions, and the group left.

An hour later, they arrived. Jet whistled, as he looked at the massive opening to the cave.

"Quite the entrance, eh?"

Scorpia nodded. "Well… we'd better find that Cottonee.

They walked inside, looking around for anyone who might attack them. Almost immediately, a Zubat and Geodude attacked them.

"Jet and Paprika, get the Geodude! Drago and I got the Zubat!" Scorpia said, and they leaped into action.

Jet spat a Bubble at the Geodude, who rolled to the side. Paprika launched a flurry of Razor Leaves, and the Geodude rolled out of the way again. Paprika growled, and lashed out with Vine Whip. For the third time, the Geodude rolled out of the way. But this time, Jet snuck up from behind, and locked the Geodude's arms behind his back. Paprika sent out another flurry of Razor Leaves, knocking out the Geodude.

Meanwhile, the Zubat Scorpia and Drago were fighting was flying out of their range, and swooping down at them. The Zubat swooped down at Drago, who waited until the last minute, before Biting down on his wing. Scorpia wasted no time in rushing over and dispatching the Zubat with Night Slash.

Paprika smiled at everyone, and said, "Well that went well. Let's press on, eh?" She matched pace with Drago, as Jet and Scorpia led the way. They came into a giant chamber, where an orb was lying on the ground.

"What's that?" Jet asked.

Drago walked over to it. "It looks like an Escape Orb. This will warp us out of the cave if we use it." He picked it up, and placed it in the bag Scorpia had brought with them.

"Spread out, guys. See if you can find another passageway." Scorpia said. They fanned out, examining the walls for another way out. Eventually, Jet and Paprika both found ways out.

Scorpia thought for a moment, before saying, "All right, we'll split up. I'll go with Jet, and Paprika will go with Drago. Meet back here in an hour."

Scorpia and Jet took off, as did Drago and Paprika. After a few minutes of walking along silently, Jet had a question.

"Hey Scorpia. I've heard of mystery dungeons before, but what exactly are they?"

Scorpia peered around a corner, before continuing on, and answering.

"They're just that, Jet. Mysterious. They work in weird ways. Always taking different shapes when you enter them, making you incredibly hungry, incredibly quickly. It's a wonder how wild pokemon manage to live in them. Expert explorers believe them to be rifts in the space time continuum, but of course that's never been proven…" Scorpia stopped moving, and raised a claw, motioning for Jet to stop as well. Before her was a sleeping Paras.

"We can bypass this guy, I think. Just stay quiet."

"And here I was hoping for a fight…" Jet said disappointedly. They crept by the sleeping pokemon, and continued on.

"Hey Scorpia? How do you know the Cottonee is even on this floor of the dungeon?"

"My gut. He wouldn't have made it very far. He's probably hiding out somewhere, unless he's fallen unconscious."

Jet nodded, and followed Scorpia without any further questions.

Meanwhile, Drago was telling Paprika about Fungal Cave.

"From what I've read about this particular dungeon, it's inhabitants are mostly Zubat and Geodude. However, farther in, are loads of Paras and Parasect. They guard rare mushrooms that are found most common in this cave."

Paprika nodded absently, feigning interest. She was busy daydreaming about famous rescue teams. She was shaken out of her thoughts, however, by Drago crying out.

"Look, it's the Cottonee!"

Paprika saw him as well. The Cottonee appeared to be unconscious. He was laying in front of a small alcove. While Drago rushed over to see if he was hurt, Paprika investigated the small opening. Inside, she saw a chest of Orbs and TM's.

"Drago, look! He actually found the thieves stash of stolen items!"

Drago looked up, and smiled. "Wow, that's great! And don't worry about him, it looks like he's just sleeping."

Drago gingerly lifted the Cottonee in his mouth, and nearly dropped him when he gasped as he saw what the Cottonee had been lying on. There was a bed of Mushrooms, orange with blue spots, that brought a look of Panic on Drago's face. Paprika frowned worriedly.

"What's wrong?" she asked, stepping closer to him. Drago set the Cottonee down and answered. "Those mushrooms! Those are what the Paras and Paresect guard! These particular mushrooms are powerful sleeping agents. We need to get out of here before they show up!"

"Too late." Paprika said, as a large Parasect, flanked by two Pars came out of a corridor.

They hissed in anger, noticing the unfamiliar pokemon by their mushrooms, and before they could react, the mushroom pokemon attacked.

**Hope you all are enjoying this tale so far! Review if ya want, and send in a mission for the team to do! Just send me the name and species of the client, mission details, and a dungeon for them to go to. It can be from the games, or made up. I'm not picky!**


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